The Watcher
by Kihmiitehra
Summary: A sweet little fic told from the point of view of Yami and Tea’s daughter, Keiko. Yami/Tea. Wellwritten. Please R&R! ::smiley::


The Watcher

by Kihmiitehra

It was a hard day, and by hard I mean it was like the day had an attitude; it was cold outside, and not snowing, making it fun, but it was hailing, making it a thrill to dodge the golf ball-sized chunks of ice raining from the heavens.

I was alone in my room, watching the thrills from afar. My long brown hair swung as I moved from the ice-laced window to my bed, where I flopped down on the soft comforter, burying my face in the downy depths. I had never had to use a down comforter in my life. Egypt only had thin hide things, it was too hot down there to matter, and even when it did get cold, it was never **really** cold, so…

My Mom would be back with the groceries soon, I could sense. I put on a coat and went out to the front porch to wait for her. It was covered of course.

Sure enough, a forest-green van pulled up in the driveway. My Mom got out, brown hair bouncing on her shoulders. Her blue eyes lit up when she saw me run toward her.

"Keiko-chan! You waited for me?" she smiled.

"Yeah," I grinned. "Need help?"

"Of course!" she said, opening up the back of the van. I took a few of the brown paper bags and went into the house.

"You're going to be 16 soon," my Mom smiled as she put away groceries.

"Yeah," I said. "Think we could have a party in our house with all my friends?" She sighed.

"Only if I don't have to do ANY cleaning," she said.

We used to live in Egypt. That's where my Dad was from, my Mom says. I've never met him, he disappeared before I was born. She had me when she was just 19 years old. She wasn't even married to my Dad. All I have is his picture, a photo of him engraved on a stone tablet. He was an Ancient Egyptian king. She told me the story of how she met him, and her husband, Yugi. He looks a lot like my dad. I think that's why Mom married him.

Mom and I talk about my up-coming birthday, and Dad comes home from his work. He comes in, and kisses Mom, and me. Dad works at a construction site for the new Dueling Academy they're building here in Japan. That's the reason we moved up here (half 'cross the world ::smile::). He works as the guy who directs the crew what to do. He's too puny to do real physical labor.

…………………..

I'm in my room again, doing a jigsaw puzzle.

I love games, like both my Dads, and am really good at them. I'm not good enough to beat him, though. Someday::smile::

I get up and go look in my full-length mirror. I'm pretty in shape; I play a lot of sports (like my poor Dad could never do ::"poor guy"smiley face::, and I ride my bike. Sports are just physical games, I'm great at them. I wonder if my real Dad loved sports as much as I do. He wasn't really skinny like Yugi is. He actually had muscle. I like to think he did.

Mom says he liked to talk about sports games sometimes. When they were just chatting, and they were staring deeply into each other's eyes… (giggle) I wish I could have seen them together!::heart::

Mom and Dad were so in love with each other. Mom says that Dad told her she was the reincarnation of his lover back in Ancient Egypt. I asked her what she did when he told her that. She said she blushed like a fire hydrant.

Dad said that Mom's preincarnation had been the Queen of Games – his only equal at games. He spent a lot of time trying to get her to reawaken her old abilities. He did succeed, and she beat him (at chess) a dozen consecutive times to prove it. She's beaten my other Dad many times, too. He's very happy to have someone to contend with. I'm going to be as good as them someday. ::smile::

I have violet eyes, like my Dad. Mom likes looking at them, even though her husband has violet eyes, too. The wistful look she gets… I wish I could have known him. Even met him just once. But I can't time travel.

I know it's silly, but… I kind of wish I could've gone to live in Ancient Egypt with him. It's probably impossible, but I think it would have been fun. … Not that I don't love it here in the present with Mom and Dad, but… just to see it…just once… the world my Dad came from. (sigh…)

My Dad was such an amazing person, Mom says. She wanted so badly for him to stay in the present with her. She'll never forget the moments before he disappeared forever…

"_Yami!! Wait…!!" Tea ran forward. The Pharaoh stopped, turning around and facing her._

"_Tea…what is it?" he asked softly. She ran up and hugged him around the shoulders._

"_Please don't go!!" she cried. "You have a life here! A happy life! You don't have to leave me forever!…" She pulled back, tears streaming from her crystal-blue eyes. Yami smiled very sadly and wiped her tears away with his hand._

"_Tea…I can't stay here, you know that." He cupped her face in his hand._

"_Yami…I love you…Please don't leave…."_

"_My love," he said softly, stroking her face, "I am not really a person. I am merely a spirit. My soul reincarnated years ago. And…it's standing right over there."_

_He pointed over her shoulder and she looked. Yugi looked up from his thoughts, wondering what was going on. Tea turned back to Yami._

"_Yugi's your reincarnation?!" said Tea. Yami smiled._

"_Yes. He __**is**__ me, and I know he will make you very happy. I love you Tea. I have to go now."_

"_Wait! One more thing you should know…" She came up and whispered in his ear "You're going to be a father."_

_He gasped. The others standing there wondered what she had said. He stared at her, purple eyes shimmering with emotion._

_Tears began to well up in his eyes, and he looked in pain. Tea__'s__ eyes streamed as well._

"_What the hell did you tell him, Tea?!" shouted Tristin._

"_Tea…" he said, almost in a whisper, "I….."_

"_The time is now, Pharaoh," said Ishizu._

_So many thoughts and emotions crossed his face. But in the end, he looked at her and said "I'm sorry."_

_His voice cracked with so much sorrow. Tea held him close, knowing this would've happened. She knew he couldn't stay in the present for 5,000 more years. And what would he do when Yugi died of old age?_

_And if they got married, they would have to use Yugi's body (as they couldn't stay separated for long in separate bodies, that was just for his goodbye ceremony). And she wasn't marrying _Yugi_, there was sure to be trouble in the future in that area._

_And also… Tea knew in her heart his place was in Ancient Egypt, not in the present day. He would be estranged and out of place here. For his own good, he had to be in his real home, the place where he belonged. Even if it meant she would never see the father of her child again._

"_Pharaoh," said Ishizu._

"_I'm coming," said Yami. He turned back to Tea. He saw in her eyes that she understood, and he smiled a little, sadly._

"_Goodbye my love." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her tenderly. She relished the kiss, knowing it would be their last._

_As the Pharaoh walked into the doorway and disappeared into the light, Tea wished she could've had just one more night with him, to show him how deeply she would always love him, and know how much he would always love her._

Now, back to the present. I'm the 15-year-old daughter of Tea Moto and the Pharaoh Atem.

I know it sounds crazy, I know it shouldn't be, but…something in me tells me I'm going to see my real Dad someday. Someday soon. I sense it. And my senses have been right before.

…………………..

"Dad!! What happened to you?!!" Mom shouts at Grandpa lying in his hospital bed when we arrive. Grandpa Gardener, not Great-Grandpa Moto.

"Tea…" he smiles weakly. He has dark brown and gray hair and blue-green smiling eyes. He's my favorite grandparent after Great-Grandpa Moto. Grandpa Gardener says, "Tea… I'm here because there was an accident at the Dueling Academy construction site." He works at the constructions site, too. "Yugi was involved, too.—"

"What?? Something happened to Yugi?!—"

Grandpa Gardener looked sad. "Yugi….is dead," he says.

We both gasp, not believing. There is a long silence in the air before Mom cracks "D…Dead???…"

"He was hit by a falling I-beam. It was no one's fault. Just an accident…"

My Dad…is dead?

Mom collapses into a chair. "Dead… Was it… a painful death?…Did he…suffer much?"

"He did not suffer. The I-beam crushed his skull. He died instantly… I'm sorry, Tea…"

The silence is thick. I want to cry, but I can't, it just won't come out… Dead… The only Dad I've ever known is dead…

Mom starts to weep, softly at first, then quickly louder. That breaks the dam, and I cry heavily. We hold each other and weep until the nurse says we have to leave to let Grandpa rest.

…………………..

Dead. My dad is dead.

I have no one to play with now. Mom's always too busy with work…and crying. She really loved Yugi. Dead…

I'm laying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling like I've been doing for the past few weeks. My Dad is dead!! Why'd this happen??! Dead… Dead… Dead…

I hear a noise downstairs. Through my funk I get up to see what it was. It sounded like the front door opening. But Mom's in her room.

I quietly descend the staircase, just in case it's a burglar. My feet make no noise on the carpeted steps. I see…

My Dad.

::wide-eyed face::

Except it's not my Dad. My Dad's dead. This man is muscular, with lightning bolt-shaped gold pieces running through his hair…

Oh my god.

"Dad!!!" I shout.

He turns around, surprised. He stops dead when he sees me.

I slowly finish descending the stairs until I am standing in front of him. We stare each other down. Emotion is shimmering in his purple eyes.

"Wh…at is…your name?" he asks. His voice is deep, rich, the voice of royalty.

I stutter out, "K—K…Keiko…"

"Keiko…" He slowly reaches up with his hand and strokes my cheek with the back of his fingers. "Keiko…"

My Dad. My real Dad is standing here, right in front of me, stroking my face. How??! How is this possible??! Am I hallucinating?! What?!… but…his fingers feel warm against my cheek…he's real… My Dad… My Dad is…

I hug him. He steps back at the force, then hugs me back, gently, then tightly. We stay that way for several minutes, until I hear Mom coming down the stairs.

"Keiko? Why are you shou—" She stops on the stairs, and we break the hug. There's tears in the Pharaoh's eyes.

"Hello, Tea," he says. "Is this my daughter?"

…………………..

"Atem…how did you get here?" my Mom asks as we sit on the couch.

He says, "When Yugi died, part of his soul came to visit me. He told me how devastated you were at his death and loaned me the power to come visit you for a short time."

"How?" I ask. "And how long will you stay?" I prayed it would be a very long short time.

"I have to go by dawn tomorrow," Dad says.

Mom whispers something in his ear and he blushes slightly. "Count on it," he says softly. They kiss.

My Dad… he's really here. Just like I sensed he would be. I think the King of Games is a psychic, and he passed his ability down to me.

"Tea, Keiko… I want to talk to each of you in private as well. Tea, will you leave Keiko and I alone for a minute?"

"Sure," she says, and goes into the kitchen.

We stare at each other. "Dad… It's really you… I've dreamed of meeting you since I was little…" I reach out and stroke the lightning bolts in his hair. "They're pointy," I giggle slightly.

"Keiko… my daughter… I wish I could have watched you grow up. You're such a lovely young woman… Keiko?" he asks.

"Yeah?"

"I have a present for you…" He takes something out of his pocket. "Here."

He hands me a gold watch. I open it, and the numbers are all in Ancient Egyptian. I laugh, a little tear seeping out of my eye. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you, too, Keiko. So you'll have something to remember my visit by, and won't think you dreamed it… Gods… I wish there was a way I could stay longer… there's so much I want to say and do with you two…"

"Dad?"

"Yes?" he says.

"How exactly did you get here?"

"I," he says, "was living in the dream world that is my home, when a presence, Yugi's presence, entered it. He told me about his death, and its effect on his family, and asked if I would visit you two."

"Why didn't he come himself?" I ask.

"Because I was not quite dead; not really dead and not really alive, so I had a better chance at passing the barrier between the spirit world and real world than he did. He used the power of his soul to form me a temporarily solid body. It was like the body I had at my goodbye ceremony, except not as long-lived."

"How did he use the power of his soul?" I ask.

"Souls have creative power. He formed me a body in the real world and I inhabited it. It exhausted him to do so, and I could only stay a short time. It was his goodbye present. I'm so glad…I got to see you at least once, Keiko. I must tell you, the other thing Yugi gave me before he passed on is the ability to peek in the real world. I'll be watching you, always. No matter what, Keiko."

Tears well in my eyes. "Oh, Dad!!" I cry. "I love you so much!!"

Always…always watching me. Like a guardian angel. My Dad…

We hug again, and I relish his warmth. Mom appears in the doorway. She was probably listening.

"Is it my turn?" she asks shyly.

"Sure," says Dad.

I go up to my room to leave the two of them alone. Heh heh. I don't want to be in ear range when they…you know. ::winking smiley::squealing smiley::

In my room, I lay on my bed and play with the gold watch. Heh. He was right to give me this, I wouldn't have thought this day was real if he hadn't given me something solid to anchor it. I look at the ornate, beautiful lid. It's a pocket watch, not the kind you wear on your wrist. It looks like real Egyptian gold.

It's snowing outside, and I go to the window to look at it. Maybe I can get Mom and Dad into a snowball fight before he goes. Something else to remember him by. I don't know if he's ever seen snow.

Dad… Always watching me. My guardian angel. I'll always love him.

Come to think of it, both my Dads will probably watch me. I have two guardian angels! Awesome…

The snow looks fun. I put on my coat and gloves and go downstairs to see if my Mom and Dad aren't too busy making out to play in the snow.

THE END


End file.
